Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON
The European arm of DHL is due to take delivery of its first Boeing 757-200 Special Freighter (SF) later this week, months later than planned.
Although the delay does not infringe on the originally contracted schedule of June, it is ten weeks behind the plan that Boeing and the airline had been working to until late last year.
DHL placed orders for 34 757SF conversions with Boeing Airplane Services (BAS), in October 1999, in a deal that included the supply of ex-British Airways 757-200s for conversion, the first of which entered conversion last July.
"Until last November, we were expecting to receive our first aircraft on 21 December," says DHL's Brussels-based division European Air Transport (EAT), which will operate the aircraft.
"So we were aiming to put it into service in January and began recruiting and training crews accordingly," he adds.
EAT says that in November Boeing informed it of an initial four-week delay, which was later extended to ten weeks. This resulted in the first flight of the prototype slipping to 15 February.
During a late stage of the conversion EAT says it became apparent that the new wiring "didn't match up" and so the design had to be reworked, redrawn and re-approved. It is understood that this portion of the conversion design was undertaken by Israel Aircraft Industries under subcontract from Boeing.
Boeing confirms that completion was held up by "additional electrical and aircraft systems requirements", but adds that the principal hold up was related to "bridging between the British Airways maintenance plan and the customised maintenance plan devised by Boeing for DHL".
DHL's first Boeing 757-200SF is expected to receive US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certificate approval on 1 March, following final smoke evacuation tests scheduled as Flight International went to press. The aircraft is expected to be delivered to DHL at a ceremony in Wichita at the beginning of March. EAT does not expect the slip to affect deliveries of its remaining aircraft.
Last month, BAS founder president Joe Gullion was suddenly replaced by Bob Avery, former vice-president of marketing for aviation services. Sources suggest that Gullion's sudden departure was primarily due to a change in strategy for BAS within Boeing, rather than the rescheduling of the 757SF programme.
Source: Flight International
